FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention refers to sewing machine transferring devices and, in particular, to a new and useful apparatus for automatically transferring pantyhose or similar articles produced by a panty-hose sewing machine to a conveyor for packed pantyhose articles.
Italian patent No. 9491-A/87 discloses an automatic pantyhose conveyor for transferring the pantyhose articles from a first to a second group of pantyhose finishing machines. The device includes a conveyor, for example rectilinear, provided with horizontal belts and exhibiting bidirectional intermittent motion. It comprises loading station corresponding to the unloading station of at least a machine of a first group, with an unloading station in correspondence with at least a machine of a second group and with more equidistant intermediate dwell stations. Each station is provided with a support for a pack of superposed and equally oriented pantyhose articles, which support is vertically movable to take up two positions; one emerging from the conveyor to allow the loading, unloading and dwell of a relevant pack, and the other disappearing under the conveyor to allow the laying of a pack onto the conveyor and the successive handling thereof. Each loading station is provided with a shelf articulated so as to result in a vertical and overhead position with respect to the conveyor upon the forming of a pack, and respectively in horizontal and out-of-conveyor position upon the laying of a pack onto the relevant belts.